Qualitative - A Study On The Language Of Contemporary Chinese Sculpture Materials

Character defines the properties of the object in sculpture, rather than the physical features in general material science. Character, different from physical properties which refer to the ways how one object differs from another, not only includes its physical properties but also its mental attributes. In the practice of human art, the material is endowed with cultural colors and symbolic significance by the environment it’s in, so when we use some of the material in the works, the culture and psychology information it carries with will be aroused.The mental attributes of a material is closely linked with its time, generated in the human society and influenced by economy, philosophy, literature, national culture and etc., therefore it can trigger an emotional bond in the audience. Seen from the material perspective, sculpture is nothing different from other human-made object, so the character definition in this essay can also be comprehended as how sculpture is different from other general artifact. Sculpture objects are not only physical material, because its properties are both substantial and spiritual. The information it carries is not only the material physical properties (texture and pattern), but also includes the mental attributes endowed by its time, place and other external conditions, which together constitute the character of a material that riches or directly leads to the success of a fine piece of work.This essay studies the character issue from perspectives of the physical material, the mental attributes, the space of substance etc, along with some contemporary artists’ work, and discovers the real features and its essence. The significance of this study is that by getting a better understanding of the sculpture material’s character, we can grasp the characters of things, including the internal attributes therefore find the possibilities of more in-depth, wider range of artistic creation.